When real estate agents sit around a table and the conversation goes on long enough, it always ends up on the market.
“Interest rates are too high.”
“Buyers are waiting.”
“Sellers won’t lower their prices.”
“The phone used to ring more.”
“Everyone’s an estate agent now.”
Are some of these true?
Yes.
There are times when the market is hard. I’m not going to ignore the economy, interest rates, regulations or people’s purchasing power.
But in all my years in this business, I’ve seen another truth as well:
In the same market, why does one person grow while another shrinks?
It’s a slightly annoying question.
Because we can’t always look for the answer outside.
Sometimes we need to turn around and look at ourselves.
We all love the times when business is good.
The phone rings.
Clients come in.
Listings move.
Deals close.
After a while, you start to feel pretty successful.
Then the market slows down.
The phone starts ringing a little less.
And that’s when something very valuable comes to light:
When the market pulls back, what’s left are our habits.
How many people are we talking to?
Are we calling our past clients?
Are we really serving our sellers?
Are we meeting new people?
Are we following up?
Are we developing ourselves?
Or are we waiting for the phone to ring?
Sometimes, when we say “The market has stopped,” part of what has stopped may be us.
I say this to myself as well.
Because it’s very comfortable to talk about the things you can’t control.
I don’t set interest rates.
I don’t set the exchange rate.
I don’t run the economy.
So when I blame those things, there’s not much left for me to do.
But I decide how many clients I’ll call today.
I decide how many appointments I’ll ask for.
I decide how I’ll serve a seller.
And I decide what time I start work.
That’s the uncomfortable part. :)
Because the moment control comes back to us, our excuses start to shrink.
One of the ideas I like in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent is all about action.
The book says the Big Why teaches a mindset of action first, never mind the obstacles along the way. It then explains that the right models can keep us in action even on days when we don’t feel very focused. (The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, p. 82)
I think this is one of the most important differences between a good market and a hard one.
In a good market, the market can cover up some of our mistakes.
A hard market catches people without a system a little faster.
But I don’t see hard markets only as bad times.
Because periods like these also give us a chance to truly learn our profession.
We learn to explain why we can’t take on a listing that isn’t priced right.
We learn to lead our sellers with real data.
We learn to understand buyers better.
We learn to follow up.
We learn to negotiate.
Most importantly, we learn to take charge of our business.
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent says that for a successful business, models have to turn into consistent action every month, every week and every day.
Maybe that’s the whole point.
When the market is good, everyone looks a little better.
Real professionalism shows in what we do when the market doesn’t give us what we want.
So when things aren’t going the way I want, I now try to ask myself this question more often:
Not “What’s wrong with the market?”…
But “What’s within my control today?”
Because the answer to the first question can bring us down.
The answer to the second gets us moving again.
And if you’re thinking about entering this profession, don’t overthink “Is now the right time?”
I’m not sure there’s such a thing as perfect timing in real estate.
But there is a time when you’re ready to learn, to work and to genuinely help people.
And that time could very well be today.
“If you can’t change the market, change how you act in it. Because most of the time, what shapes your career isn’t the conditions, but the behaviours you repeat in the face of them.” — Neşet Birlik
If you’re in professional life and sometimes wonder, “Could I become a real estate agent?”, you can try the short test we’ve prepared.
You might discover strengths you could put to use in this profession. :)
Could I Become a Real Estate Agent? https://www.kwavo.net/
To get to know me and my work better: https://nesetbirlik.com/